I think these observations are made in good humour, and many Mexicans of my acquaintance laugh at their own cultural peculiarities, just as we the foreigners laugh at them. Personally, I'd have no problems with someone stereotyping the British (I'm British for those who don't know); I'm an individual and comfortable with who I am.

Why do the British, when being interviewed, talk with their eyes wide open and eyebrows raised?

While Mexicans might not laugh or say anything to our faces, they often have something to say about our odd or cringe-worthy behaviour, later. Something we saw the other night was certainly in that category. We were at a restaurant right at the beach, open air palapa style, great breeze blowing off the ocean. In walks a guy (American, Canadian, British?) with a large table fan tucked under his arm. (We aren't talking personal desk size). The waiters looked at each other with huge eyes, as if to say "now we've seen it all". Who does stuff like that? BYOF! LOL

Speaking of food, why do Mexicans have no qualms about telling you they got the hershey squirts from something they ate? Is it really that prevalent?!

My experience with my friends here is that they aren't as hung up about bodily functions as we are. For the most part their attitude is sh*t happens.

DL
ha ha ha

Agreed...and that probably explains why used toilet paper is treated in the way it is by some Mexicans. It just doesn't bother them in the same way it bothers North Americans, who are used to heavy privacy over such matters.

- Why do many Mexicans put a plastic straw in their coffee? Wouldn't that create a burning sensation when attempting to drink it? More importantly, wouldn't the straw melt from the hot beverage?!

- On buses, why do some Mexicans not only sit in the aisle seat, but refuse to move over to the window seat when someone else comes along and wants a seat? (That's something I have almost never seen in Canada, where people usually sit next to the window or slide over to the window seat when someone else comes along.)

- Why is highway naming/numbering so much more complex than in the United States? For example the highway heading north from Mexico City towards Queretaro has the number "57", but you almost always hear it referred to by the much longer name "Autopista México - Queretaro" (the spaces before and after the dash are mandatory)? Some highways I've seen have even more complex names that would confuse anyone who isn't from the local area. Wouldn't it be easier just to say "el 57", like the Interstates in the United States usually referred to as I-5 or I-90? (Where I'm from, where we have Highway 401 through Southern Ontario, I can't imagine directing people to take the Windsor - London Highway, and then the London - Toronto Highway, and then the Toronto - Kingston highway, and so forth to get from Windsor to Montreal...)

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

- And finally, on the Mexico City Metro, why do the trains often make sudden emergency stops? Are they having a lot of mechanical problems these days?

- Why do many Mexicans put a plastic straw in their coffee? Wouldn't that create a burning sensation when attempting to drink it? More importantly, wouldn't the straw melt from the hot beverage?!

I do that too with the take-out coffees from OXXO and 7-Eleven. If you are drinking in the street it's better to leave the lid on to keep the coffee hot, and I find it difficult to drink the coffee through the hole; rough on the lip. No mystery.

- On buses, why do some Mexicans not only sit in the aisle seat, but refuse to move over to the window seat when someone else comes along and wants a seat? (That's something I have almost never seen in Canada, where people usually sit next to the window or slide over to the window seat when someone else comes along.)

Yeah, and bit annoying, bit I've just asked my wife and this is her explanation: Due to the fact that the buses are usually packed solid it's easier to get off from the aisle seat.

Personally, I don't like the aisle seat because you usually end up with an enormous posterior, or a crotch in your face!

Quote:

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

Unfortunately, one of the many child-rearing myths that abound in this country. I once had a student who was a gynaecologist, and she confirmed that most of them ARE myths. The idea is that the child needs womb-like protection for about the first 3 years of its life. While it may be necessary for a new-born baby, this is an exaggeration! In my book this IS child abuse, as this is the time when the child should be exposed to all the dangers in the world to build its immune system.

Speaking of food, why do Mexicans have no qualms about telling you they got the hershey squirts from something they ate? Is it really that prevalent?!

My experience with my friends here is that they aren't as hung up about bodily functions as we are. For the most part their attitude is sh*t happens.

DL
ha ha ha

Agreed...and that probably explains why used toilet paper is treated in the way it is by some Mexicans. It just doesn't bother them in the same way it bothers North Americans, who are used to heavy privacy over such matters.

Toilet paper is often thrown into a trash can instead of into the toilet because of faulty plumbing, not because Mexicans aren't bothered by soiled toilet paper.

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

The flip side to that is Mexican mothers screaming at you to dress your kid up better if you take him/her out in what you'd think is more reasonable attire.

People perceive cold/hot differently from me I find.

I've found it helps to tell people that the Japanese don't bundle there babies up at all, believing that human babies can learn to regulate their own temperature if given the chance--and preschoolers go to school year round in shorts, even when there is snow on the ground! This is not 100% true, but serves to make me look middle of the road.

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

The flip side to that is Mexican mothers screaming at you to dress your kid up better if you take him/her out in what you'd think is more reasonable attire.

People perceive cold/hot differently from me I find.

I've found it helps to tell people that the Japanese don't bundle there babies up at all, believing that human babies can learn to regulate their own temperature if given the chance--and preschoolers go to school year round in shorts, even when there is snow on the ground! This is not 100% true, but serves to make me look middle of the road.

Great advice! The Japanese are one of the populations with the greatest longevity in the world.

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

The flip side to that is Mexican mothers screaming at you to dress your kid up better if you take him/her out in what you'd think is more reasonable attire.

People perceive cold/hot differently from me I find.

I've found it helps to tell people that the Japanese don't bundle there babies up at all, believing that human babies can learn to regulate their own temperature if given the chance--and preschoolers go to school year round in shorts, even when there is snow on the ground! This is not 100% true, but serves to make me look middle of the road.

It also explains what I saw back in February - I was wearing a short sleeve shirt on a bus, while everyone else was wearing a jacket, and one man was wearing earmuffs. It wasn't that cold.

- Why do many Mexican mothers bundle their babies in heavy blankets, even when the temperature is almost 30°C outside? At first glance it seems like child abuse, but there must be a good reason...

The flip side to that is Mexican mothers screaming at you to dress your kid up better if you take him/her out in what you'd think is more reasonable attire.

People perceive cold/hot differently from me I find.

I've found it helps to tell people that the Japanese don't bundle there babies up at all, believing that human babies can learn to regulate their own temperature if given the chance--and preschoolers go to school year round in shorts, even when there is snow on the ground! This is not 100% true, but serves to make me look middle of the road.

It also explains what I saw back in February - I was wearing a short sleeve shirt on a bus, while everyone else was wearing a jacket, and one man was wearing earmuffs. It wasn't that cold.

As someone who grew up in a place with very extreme weather, but has spent the last 14 years in a very mild climate. There is a recent-relative-temperature-equation in humans. In Iowa a 50 F day in January would bring people outside in short sleeves, because compared to the previous week's weather that was very warm. Likewise a 50 F day in August would have people bundled up, because that was very cold relative to the recent weather. In Mexico the range is much smaller. Where I live now we drop below freezing only say 3 or 4 times a year and only in the wee hours of the morning. And the hottest temperature is around 90 and then only for a few weeks and only around 3pm. Growing up I experienced a range from well below freezing to around 102. To me then cold outside was your nose hairs freezing upon taking a deep breath. And that was true for the fist several years I was in Mexico--but not anymore. Now I've complete reset my thermostat and I'm actually wearing a sweater right now.

As someone who grew up in a place with very extreme weather, but has spent the last 14 years in a very mild climate. There is a recent-relative-temperature-equation in humans. In Iowa a 50 F day in January would bring people outside in short sleeves, because compared to the previous week's weather that was very warm. Likewise a 50 F day in August would have people bundled up, because that was very cold relative to the recent weather. In Mexico the range is much smaller. Where I live now we drop below freezing only say 3 or 4 times a year and only in the wee hours of the morning. And the hottest temperature is around 90 and then only for a few weeks and only around 3pm. Growing up I experienced a range from well below freezing to around 102. To me then cold outside was your nose hairs freezing upon taking a deep breath. And that was true for the fist several years I was in Mexico--but not anymore. Now I've complete reset my thermostat and I'm actually wearing a sweater right now.

The strange thing is that you are still thinking in Fahrenheit after 14 years in Mexico! Even we quaint old Brits of my generation (I'm nearly 50) now use Celsius, I can't relate to those temperatures in Fahrenheit! Once a gringa, always a gringa!